John Griber, of Team North Face, may be best known for bold alpine ascents and exposed snowboard descents in the Himalayas, but through early October you'll find him at the oars of his driftboat guiding fly-fishing clients on the Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming. $400; www.westbank.com

4: Americans are four times as likely to drink ginger ale on a plane than on the ground.

Free River Flowing
Claiming a new river for recreation no longer requires exploration so much as litigation. Case in point: paddler-advocacy group American Whitewater's 2005 victory over aluminum smelter Alcoa, which, until this year, has had a 77-year stranglehold on North Carolina's Cheoah River. On October 1, Santeetlah Dam, near Robbinsville, will begin scheduled fall releases of about 1,000 cfs, turning nine miles of the Cheoah's dry riverbed into one of the best Class IV+ rafting runs in the East. Day trips, $125; www.noc.com